Devastating earthquake leaves Nepal in rubble, more than a thousand killed

People survey a site damaged by an earthquake, in Kathmandu, Nepal, April 25, 2015. Reuters

 2015-04-25

A powerful earthquake struck Nepal and sent tremors through northern India on Saturday, killing more than 1,300 people, touching off a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest and toppling a 19th-century tower in the capital Kathmandu.

[Washington Post, however, said the death toll had crossed 1,400, while unofficial sources say it could be twice or even thrice as much.]

There were reports of devastation in outlying, isolated mountainous areas after the midday quake of magnitude 7.9, Nepal's worst in 81 years, centred 50 miles (80 km) east of the second city, Pokhara.

As fears grew of a humanitarian disaster in the impoverished Himalayan nation of 28 million, an overwhelmed government appealed for foreign help.

Devastating Earthquake Leaves Nepal in Rubble, More Than a Thousand Killed by Thavam Ratna